WB gives a sigh of relief

KOLKATA: West Bengal government's recent decision to exclude houses, religious places, schools and graveyards while acquiring land for industrialisation and urbanisation does not seem to have percolated down to the CPIM's grassroots.

This was evident when CPIM's South 24-Parganas district secretariat held a meeting recently to discuss issues relating to land acquisition for the proposed Kulpi port. The district planning committee (DPC), which also comprised senior CPIM leaders and state government officials from the district, had earmarked nearly 3000 acres for the proposed port.

The CPIM district secretariat leaders apparently were stunned to study the report prepared by DPC which suggested acquisition of 3000 acres that included several schools, mosques, graveyards and temples.

"We will have to alter the report prepared by DPC and exclude these establishments," said Mr Sujan Chakraborty, CPIM MP and a member of the CPIM district committee.

It is well known that Bengal Port Ltd (BPL) will construct the proposed port and the special economic zone (SEZ). "We have surveyed about 12,500 acres in the district and decided to acquire saline and mono-crop land only," said M.K.Jalan, chairman Keventer Group, which holds 44.5 % in BPL.

Mr Jalan also said: "We will bypass all obstruction and avoid acquiring any establishments like houses, schools and religious places. We expect the government will soon come out with a proposal soon."

"Investment for the port and the SEZ has been pegged at Rs 2,600 crore. The special economic zone and port will be spread over 3,000 acres. About 300 acres will be used for the port and allied backup facilities and 2,700 acres for the SEZ," said officials from BPL

DP World holds 44.5% in Bengal Port Ltd (BPL), the company that will execute the port and the SEZ project. Dubai World manages and supervises businesses and project portfolios for Dubai Government.

The zero date for the project, however, is yet to be arrived at as the detailed project report (DPR) is awaiting the state government's approval.

According to Dubai World officials, the Kulpi Port will include all-weather port facilities, a ship-breaking yard, and an industrial park, all integrated in a single hub. The marine terminal will have a 450-metre quay and handling capacity of 650,000 TEU. The first phase of the port development will be completed at the end of 2009.